Death on Darby’s Island by Alice Walsh
Death on Darby's Island is a murder-mystery set in the outport community of Darby's Island in the mid-seventies.
Mystery
The Hanged Woman’s Daughter by Nellie P. Strowbridge
The Hanged Woman’s Daughter Newfoundland, 1835 Where does a person go when she loses her family, her home, and her place in a community? What can she do when she feels she doesn’t belong anywhere and to anyone? The disappearance of John Snow from Salmon Cove is shrouded in mystery.
The Hush Sisters by Gerard Collins
Sissy and Ava Hush are estranged, middle-aged sisters with little in common beyond their upbringing in a peculiar manor in downtown St. John’s. With both parents now dead, the siblings must decide what to do with the old house they’ve inherited.
You Were Never Here by Kathleen Peacock
Cat hasn’t been to Montgomery Falls, the town her family founded, since she was twelve years old. Since the summer she discovered she could do things that no normal twelve-year-old could do. Since she had her first kiss with Riley Fraser. Since she destroyed their friendship.
Now, five years later, she’s back and Riley has disappeared.
The Worst Dogs: A Progressive Murder Mystery by Matthew de Lacey Davidson
Set in the aptly named fictional town of Feckless Bay, The Worst Dogs is Matthew de Lacey Davidson’s first mystery novel. And, as mystery novels go, the story is a good one, but not without its faults. More on that … Continue reading
Dark August by Katie Tallo
At the beginning of Dark August, 20-year-old Augusta “Gus” Monet learns that her great-grandmother Rose has died. The death of her only blood relative galvanizes Gus to take charge of her meandering life. She ditches her petty criminal boyfriend Lars … Continue reading
Buried: A Novel by Ruth Chorney
It seems that the majority of Canada’s writers live either on our East or West Coasts or in Southern Ontario. A recent call for mid-western Canadian writers turned up a few names, Ruth Chorney’s among them. Ms. Chorney lives in … Continue reading
The Liars by Ida Linehan Young
Ida Linehan Young’s The Liars is a sequel to The Promise, (2019) which was a spin-off of 2018’s Being Mary Ro. There is no doubt that she is amongst the best of the best of Newfoundland’s storytellers, in … Continue reading
Butterfly by John Delacourt
At the heart of John Delacourt's Butterfly is a simple enough story: blackmail and robbery gone very wrong with the principle characters fleeing the law as well as each other. But there is much more to Butterfly, for it is an exceptional literary crime-suspense novel.
Operation Vanished by Helen C. Escott
Helen C. Escott’s Operation Vanished follows closely on the heels of her bestselling Atlantic Canadian thriller Operation Wormwood (2018, Flanker Press). While that book dealt with an investigation by the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, Operation Vanished has the RCMP investigating some … Continue reading
Celtic Knot: A Clara Swift Tale by Ann Shortell
A fine example of Canadian historical fiction, Ann Shortell’s Celtic Knot: A Clara Swift Tale (2018, Friesen Press) is constructed around the actual assassination of D’Arcy McGee, one of the fathers of confederation, on April 7th, 1868 as he … Continue reading
Phantom of Fire: A Dylan Maples Adventure by Shane Peacock
Phantom of Fire is #5 in the Dylan Maples Adventures. This time, his parents take him on a trip to Bathurst New Brunswick where Dylan and his new friend Antonine encounter the Phantom Fire Ship of Chaleur Bay.
Best New Brunswick Reads of 2018
Looking back on all the books I reviewed in 2018, there were plenty of good ones that came out of New Brunswick.
Before I get to highlighting just a few of them, I would like to mention how unhappy I … Continue reading
Poplar Falls: The Death of Charlie Baker by Pierre C. Arseneault
Just down the road a piece from Miramichi on Route 126, you’ll pass through the lovely little Acadian town of Rogersville. Famous for their annual Bluegrass Festival, it is also the birthplace of Pierre C. Arseneault, whose most recent book … Continue reading
Under the Floorboard by Wendy Ranby
15-year-old Aileen never feels good enough to please her mother. When she pries up the floorboard at her aunt's house, she sheds a light on the dark secret she worked so hard to forget. Why does no one ever talk about her baby sister Claire and what happened to her?